Restoration

Coronation of Charles II of England.

The Restoration refers to the return of the monarchy in England in 1660, when Charles II was invited back to the throne following the collapse of the republican Commonwealth and Protectorate. Marking the end of the Interregnum, the Restoration was not only a political realignment but a profound cultural and social shift that reasserted royal authority and reopened institutions suppressed under Puritan rule.

Theatres, banned since 1642, were revived with royal patents, and a vibrant new dramatic tradition emerged, known as Restoration drama, marked by wit, sexual frankness, and elaborate staging. Court culture flourished once again, with Charles II modeling his court on the French example of Louis XIV, importing tastes in fashion, art, and architecture that emphasized spectacle and elegance.

Religious tensions remained unresolved, and though the Church of England was reinstated, the Restoration era was marked by underlying anxieties about dissent, succession, and legitimacy. Nevertheless, the period restored a sense of continuity with the past while reshaping monarchy and cultural life for a new age.